Zalophora dominicana García & Morffe, 2015

García, Nayla & Morffe, Jans, 2015, A new genus and two new species of Xustrostomatidae Hunt, 2002 (Nematoda: Rhigonematomorpha) from the West Indies, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo) 55 (6), pp. 91-101 : 97-100

Zalophora dominicana García & Morffe sp. nov.

( Fig. 4 A-D, Fig. 5 A-D)

Type material: ♀ holotype, Dominican Republic, Santiago province, Río de los Negros , 19°07’05.6”N, 71°00’17.9”W; in unidentified Spirobolida; IV/1999; L.F. de Armas coll.; CZACC 11.4727 . Paratypes 2 ♀♀, same data as holotype, CZACC 11.4728 -11.4729 .

Measurements

Holotype (female) a = 14.25, b = 16.25, c = 19.62, V% = 58.65, total length = 2.600, maximum body width = 0.183, corpus length = 0.100, diameter of basal bulb = 0.093, total length of oesophagus = 0.160, excretory pore to anterior end = 0.080, vulva to posterior end = 1.075, tail length = 0.133, eggs = 0.070 -0.078 × 0.055 -0.063 (0.074 ± 0.003 × 0.059 ± 0.003, n = 4).

Paratypes (females) (n = 2) a = 14.00-14.09 (14.05 ± 0.064, n = 2), b = 14.76-15.44 (15.10 ± 0.48, n = 2), c = 18.24-21.00 (19.62 ± 1.95, n = 2), V % = 50.48-59.14 (54.81 ± 6.13, n = 2), total length = 2.325 -2.625 (2.475 ± 0.212, n = 2) , maximum body width = 0.165 -0.188 (0.176 ± 0.016, n = 2), corpus length = 0.103 -0.113 (0.108 ± 0.007, n = 2), diameter of basal bulb = 0.093 -0.095 (0.094 ± 0.002, n = 2), total length of oesophagus = 0.158 -0.170 (0.164 ± 0.009, n = 2), excretory pore to anterior end = 0.098 (n = 2), vulva to posterior end = 0.950 -1.300 (1.125 ± 0.247, n = 2), tail length = 0.125 -0.128 (0.126 ± 0.002, n = 2), eggs = 0.065 -0.075 × 0.060 -0.063 (0.071 ± 0.004 × 0.061 ± 0.001, n = 5).

Description

Female body short in length and robust. Anterior end with the globular appearance characteristic of the genus but not too marked. Constriction of the body at the base of oesophagus not evident. Cuticle finely striated from the base of the cephalic collar to the level of the anus. No microtricha or spinelets present. Cephalic cap with four small papillae, two sub-dorsal and two sub-lateral. Oral aperture triangular in shape, dorsoventrally elongated. Two dorsoventral, barely developed cuticular crests present on each side of the oral aperture. Each crest presents a wide cleavage at its midpoint and two conical papillae, one dorsal and one lateral. Anterior end of pharynx with three cuticularized jaw-like structures, the dorsal shorter than the two sub-ventral, similar in length. Each jaw presents small, pointed and triangular teeth. Near each angle of the jaws there is one teeth notably larger, pointed and triangular. Between the two larger teeth of the sub-ventral jaws there are ca. 31 small teeth. Between the large teeth and the end of the sub-ventral jaws there seems to be ca. 10 small teeth (the crests make the observation difficult). Pharynx with the corpus and the bulb hypertrophied, notably rounded and muscular, inflated. The bulb is amalgamated to the corpus with half of its diameter. Intestine simple, subrectilinear, its fore region not inflated. Rectum short, anus not prominent. Excretory pore at level of the base of corpus. Vulva as a ventral median transverse slit, its lips not prominent, slightly displaced to the posterior half of body. Genital tract didelphic-amphidelphic, Type 1 after Adamson (1987). Eggs spherical, shell thin and smooth. A number of 10- 19 eggs at a time in the uterus. Tail comparatively short and subulate. Male unknown.

Etymology: Z. dominicana sp. nov. differs from the other species in the genus by its shorter body and the crests less developed. Is similar in length to Z. repentina from Cuba (2.325 -2.625 vs. 2.575 -2.875), but differs by having reduced crests and the cephalic end less globular in shape. Z. repentina presents more evident crests and cephalic dilation ( García & Morffe, 2010). Moreover, the tail of Z. dominicana sp. nov. is subulate and shorter (c = 18.24-21.00 vs. 12.88-14.38), lacking the median caudal dilatation characteristic of the Cuban species, which presents a more attenuate and conical tail. Z. dominicana sp. nov. is slender than Z. repentina (a = 14.00-14.25 vs. a = 12.50-12.88) and the vulva is more anterior (V% = 50.48-59.14 vs. 61.17).

Z. dominicana sp. nov. can be segregated from Z. hepialum and Z. nemophila ( Hunt, 1994; Hunt & Moore, 1999) by its crests reduced and not lobate and the shorter body (2.325 -2.625 vs. 5.590 -6.030 and 7.100 -7.590, respectively). Also, it differs in the rest of the measurements, always shorter in Z. dominicana sp. nov. as well as in the shape of the cephalic end, less inflated.

Z. deinostoma presents short crests ( Hunt & Moore, 1999), as in Z. dominicana sp. nov., but differs in the longer tail (c = 8.10-11.10 vs. 18.24-21.00). On the other hand, Z. deinostoma (being the shortest of the Australasian species of the genus) is nearly twice the length of the Dominican species (3.380 -4.910 vs. 2.325 -2.625) as it happens with the rest of the measurements.

Type locality: Río de los Negros, Santiago province, Dominican Republic.

Type host: Unidentified Spirobolida (Diplopoda).

Site: Hind gut.

Etymology: Specific epithet referred to the Spanish name of the country of the type locality: the República Dominicana.

Figures

FIGURE 4: Zalophora dominicana sp. nov. Female. A. Oesophageal region, dorsal view. B. Tail, lateral view. C. Egg. D. Habitus, ventrolateral view.

FIGURE 5: Zalophora dominicana sp. nov. SEM images. Female. A. Cephalic end, frontal view. B. Cephalic end, en face view. C. Cuticular striae in the junction with the cephalic collar. D. Oral aperture. Scale bars: A, B = 0.050 mm. C = 0.025 mm. D = 0.020 mm.